• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.48 no.3
• /
• pp.153-161
• /
• 2023

Background: Fukushima Medical University (FMU) is located 57 km northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Our laboratory has been conducting environmental radiation measurements continuously before and after the nuclear accident. We aimed to report the observed behavior of radiation originating from the released radioactive materials due to the accident, predict future trends, and disseminate the results to the local residents. Materials and Methods: Measurements of the counting rate by a diameter of 76 mm and a length of 76 mm thallium-doped sodium iodide (NaI[Tl]) scintillation detector (S-1211-T; Teledyne Brown Engineering Environmental Services) in the central part of the laboratory, and the dose rate outward at the window by NaI(Tl) scintillation detector and digital processor (EMF211; EMF Japan Co. Ltd.) were conducted. Results and Discussion: Measurements by Teledyne S-1211-T showed that in the early stages, radiation from radioactive isotopes with short half-lives was dominant, while radiation from radioactive isotopes with longer half-lives became dominant as the measurement period became longer. Through nonlinear least squares regression, both short and long half-lives were successfully determined. It was also possible to predict how the radiation dose would decrease. The environmental radiation trends around FMU were measured by the EMF211. Both measurements were affected by rainfall and snow accumulation. Decontamination work on the FMU campus impacted measurements by the EMF211 especially. Conclusion: The results of two types of measurements, one at the center and the other at the window side of the laboratory, were presented. By applying a simplified model, radiation from radioactive isotopes with short and long half-lives was identified. Based on these results, future trends were predicted, and the information was used for public communication with the local residents.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.9
• /
• pp.3506-3513
• /
• 2023

In this paper, we demonstrate the neutron attenuation of dry cask shielding materials using the S670e helium-4 detector manufactured by Arktis Radiation Ltd. In particular, two materials expected to be applied to the TN-32 dry cask manufactured by ORANO Korea and KORAD-21 by the Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD) were utilized. The measured neutron attenuation was compared with our Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport simulation results, and the difference is given as the root mean square (RMS). For the fast neutron case, a rapid decline in neutron counts was observed as a function of increasing material thickness, exhibiting an exponential relationship. The discrepancy between the experimentally acquired data and simulation results for the fast neutron was maintained within a 2.3% RMS. In contrast, the observed thermal neutron count demonstrated an initial rise, attained a maximum value, and exhibited an exponential decline as a function of increasing thickness. In particular, the discrepancy between the measured and simulated peak locations for thermal neutrons displayed an RMS deviation of approximately 17.3-22.4%. Finally, the results suggest that a minimum thickness of 5 cm for Li-6 is necessary to achieve a sufficiently significant cross-section, effectively capturing incoming thermal neutrons within the dry cask.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.16-24
• /
• 2012

In the present study, a gamma-ray detector and associated signal processing circuit was developed for a side-absorber of a dual-mode Compton camera. The gamma-ray detector was made by optically coupling a CsI(Tl) scintillation crystal to a silicon photodiode. The developed signal processing circuit consists of two parts, i.e., the slow part for energy measurement and the fast part for timing measurement. In the fast part, there are three components: (1) fast shaper, (2) leading-edge discriminator, and (3) TTL-to-NIM logic converter. AC coupling configuration between the detector and front-end electronics (FEE) was used. Because the noise properties of FEE can significantly affect the overall performance of the detection system, some design criteria were presented. The performance of the developed system was evaluated in terms of energy and timing resolutions. The evaluated energy resolution was 12.0% and 15.6% FWHM for 662 and 511 keV peaks, respectively. The evaluated timing resolution was 59.0 ns. In the conclusion, the methods to improve the performance were discussed because the developed gamma-ray detection system showed the performance that could be applicable but not satisfactory in Compton camera application.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.10
• /
• pp.3913-3923
• /
• 2023

Todays, medium energy resolution detectors are preferably used in radioisotope identification devices(RID) in nuclear and radioactive material categorization. However, there is still a need to develop or enhance « automated identifiers » for the useful RID algorithms. To decide whether any material is SNM or NORM, a key parameter is the better energy resolution of the detector. Although masking, shielding and gain shift/stabilization and other affecting parameters on site are also important for successful operations, the suitability of the RID algorithm is also a critical point to enhance the identification reliability while extracting the features from the spectral analysis. In this study, a RID algorithm based on Bayesian statistical method has been modified for medium energy resolution detectors and applied to the uranium gamma-ray spectra taken by a LaBr3:Ce detector. The present Bayesian RID algorithm covers up to 2000 keV energy range. It uses the peak centroids, the peak areas from the measured gamma-ray spectra. The extraction features are derived from the peak-based Bayesian classifiers to estimate a posterior probability for each isotope in the ANSI library. The program operations were tested under a MATLAB platform. The present peak based Bayesian RID algorithm was validated by using single isotopes(²⁴¹Am, ⁵⁷Co, ¹³⁷Cs, ⁵⁴Mn, ⁶⁰Co), and then applied to five standard nuclear materials(0.32-4.51% at.²³⁵U), as well as natural U- and Th-ores. The ID performance of the RID algorithm was quantified in terms of F-score for each isotope. The posterior probability is calculated to be 54.5-74.4% for ²³⁸U and 4.7-10.5% for ²³⁵U in EC-NRM171 uranium materials. For the case of the more complex gamma-ray spectra from CRMs, the total scoring (ST) method was preferred for its ID performance evaluation. It was shown that the present peak based Bayesian RID algorithm can be applied to identify ²³⁵U and ²³⁸U isotopes in LEU or natural U-Th samples if a medium energy resolution detector is was in the measurements.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.203-206
• /
• 2001

The mathematical processing (unfolding) of pulse height spectra from a scintillation detector helps to calculate the photon fluence rate energy distribution in a measured photon field. The data processing is based on the knowledge of detection system response function and directional dependence respectively. The experimental results of the photon fields measurements in the vicinity of the spent fuel temporary storage and inside the storage hall are presented. The containers Castor 440 are used for temporary storing of the burnt up fuel assemblies in the Czech nuclear power plant Dukovany. A set of periodical measurements was performed in order to get basic information on the time dependence of the photon fields spatial distributions and spectral characteristics in the temporary storage hall and its vicinity. The photon fields were measured by the scintillation system. The obtained photon fields spatial distributions and spectral characteristics present the information on the radiation hazard in the storage.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
• /
• 2002.09a
• /
• pp.195-198
• /
• 2002

A positron camera, consisting of a pair of Anger-type scintillation detectors, has been developed for verifying the ranges of irradiation beams in heavy-ion radiotherapy. Images obtained by a centroid calculation of photomultiplier outputs exhibit a distortion near the edge of the crystal plane in an Anger-type scintillation detector. The images of a $\^$68/Ge line source were detected and look-up tables were prepared for the position correction parameters. Asymmetry of the position distribution detected by the positron camera was prevented with this correction. As a result, a linear position response and a position resolution of 8.6 mm were obtained over a wide measurement field.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2003.11a
• /
• pp.412-414
• /
• 2003

This paper is about research of scintillator layer, which is used for Hybrid method to increase electric signals in a-Se, the material of Direct method. In case of the thermal evaporation, CsI has column structure which is an disadvantage as scintillator. But it decreases scattering of incident X-ray, has better Light output intensity than other scintillation materials. CsI was made by Thermal evaporation. The Doping material, Na, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7g were added in each sample. Analysis of absorbed wavelength, PL(Photoluminescence), Light output intensity, SEM, and XRD analysis were performed to analyze optical characteristics. Doping rate of CsI:Na to use as scintillation layer in a-Se based detector could be optimized.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.3
• /
• pp.1045-1051
• /
• 2023

In this study, we fabricated a liquid light-guide-based radiation sensor with a LaBr₃:Ce scintillator for remote gamma-ray spectroscopy. We acquired the energy spectra of Cs-137 and Co-60 using the proposed sensor, estimated the energy resolutions of the full energy peaks, and compared the scintillation light output variations. The major peaks of the radionuclides were observed in each result, and the estimated energy resolutions were similar to that of a general NaI(Tl) scintillation detector without a liquid light guide. Moreover, we showed the relationships of energy resolution and analog-to-digital channel regarding the number of photoelectrons produced and confirmed the effects of light guide length on remote gamma-ray spectroscopy. The proposed sensor is expected to be utilized to perform remote gamma-ray spectroscopy for distances of 3 m or more and would find application in many fields of nuclear facilities and industry.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.841-846
• /
• 2019

Effect of misalignment on the performance was evaluated for the development of time-of-flight(TOF)-PET detector. A pair of TOF-PET detector consists of Lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate(LYSO) scintillation crystal with a volume of 3 mm × 3 mm × 20 mm and Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes(GAPD) photo-sensor with a active area of 3.07 mm × 3.07 mm. Analog output signals from TOF-PET detector were sent to the pre-amplifier and then fed into the gain adjust circuit for achievement of gain homogeneity for each detector. The amplified signals were recorded and digitized by data acquisition system based on oscilloscope. The effect of the detector misalignment between LYSO and GAPD was examined for four different alignment offsets of 0.0 mm, 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm and 1.5 mm for a pair of TOF-PET detector. The photopeak position decreased from ~400 mV to ~250 mV with increasing detector misalignment. the energy resolution and time resolution were degraded from 11.6% to 16.2%, and from 477 ps to 632 ps, respectively. This study demonstrated that PET detector performance was degraded considerably depending on the detector misalignment, which would be a critical issue for the development of TOF-PET detector.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.85-96
• /
• 2018

Background: A variety of inorganic scintillators have been developed and improved for use in radiation detection and measurement, and in situ gamma-ray spectrometry in the environment remains an important area in nuclear safety. In order to verify the feasibility of promising scintillators in an actual environment, a performance test is necessary to identify gamma-ray peaks and calculate the radioactivity from their net count rates in peaks. Materials and Methods: Among commercially available scintillators, $LaBr_3(Ce)$ scintillators have so far shown the highest energy resolution when detecting and identifying gamma-rays. However, the intrinsic background of this scintillator type affects efficient application to the environment with a relatively low count rate. An algorithm to subtract the intrinsic background was consequently developed, and the in situ calibration factor at 1 m above ground level was calculated from Monte Carlo simulation in order to determine the radioactivity from the measured net count rate. Results and Discussion: The radioactivity of six natural radionuclides in the environment was evaluated from in situ gamma-ray spectrometry using an $LaBr_3(Ce)$ detector. The results were then compared with those of a portable high purity Ge (HPGe) detector with in situ object counting system (ISOCS) software at the same sites. In addition, the radioactive cesium in the ground of Jeju Island, South Korea, was determined with the same assumption of the source distribution between measurements using two detectors. Conclusion: Good agreement between both detectors was achieved in the in situ gamma-ray spectrometry of natural as well as artificial radionuclides in the ground. This means that an $LaBr_3(Ce)$ detector can produce reliable and stable results of radioactivity in the ground from the measured energy spectrum of incident gamma-rays at 1 m above the ground.